Martus: Budgeting & Reporting

General Info

What Is Martus?

Martus is a web based software that allows our church to streamline the annual budget process and provide accurate actual v budget reports throughout the year. This tool syncs with our church's accounting system nightly, so it is always up to date with the most accurate financial information available.   

Who Can Use Martus?

Department Leaders and Division Heads are the primary users of Martus because they have been the ones tasked with the management of and accountability for our church's resources. 

In some cases, staff members in other roles are allowed access to Martus, however this is subject to the availability of software licenses and at the discretion of their DL and the finance team. 


How To Get Access To Martus

First, please talk to your department leader to see if they would like you to have a Martus account. If so, please fill out the request form below.

Martus Request Form

Martus Overview

Martus has 3 primary modules used by our staff. In addition to a "Welcome" option, these three modules are included in Martus's navigation bar on the left of the screen. See overview video below.

Module Name Description Who Has Access
Dashboard This is the primary module in Martus and is frequently used by our staff to see their spending as compared to the budget. All Users
Planner This module is for all things budgets, so no actual spending is visible. This module is primarily used to create budgets, view budget numbers, and submit budget change requests. All Users
Personnel Budgeting The module is limited to specific groups of staff because it includes all the information needed to budget for staff costs. This module is updated throughout the year to provide a live time look at the budgeted cost for staff, however, this module only syncs with the Planner module once a year during budget season. This means if a team makes major budget changes during the year, it would be reflected in the Personnel module, but not in the Planner module unless a change request is submitted. Department Leaders & Division Heads

Martus Overview Training Content:

1.0 Martus Overview, Welcome Screen, & Support Tools [Video]

Dashboard Module | Actuals & Budget

This is the module you will likely use the most throughout the year. It only includes one It will show you almost live time spending and revenue, and compare it to the budget you submitted in the planner module. This module allows you to drill down on any number to see the underlying list of transactions.

Screens In This Module:

Screen Name Description
Financial This is the only screen in this module and it includes all the reports needed to look at current spending compared to budget.

Update Frequency:

The actuals in this module will update as follows:

  • Giving/Revenue - Typically takes 4-5 days to show up in martus since it takes that time to settle in our bank account
  • Ministry Expense & Vendor Payments - Martus will be updated the day after the AP team approves the expense/payment. (even if they payment hasn't been made)
  • Staffing Expense - updated throughout the month depending on when we receive bills from our providers. Payroll is always posted 15 days after the end of a pay period. For example the payroll paid on the April 15th was for work done from March 16 - March 31, so a payroll number for 3/31 wont be available until it has been paid on April 15th.

Report Overview

Below is a list of all reports in the dashboard modules. The reports names with " ** " tend to be the most useful for our staff.

Report Name Description

Dashboard


 This is the only visual report in Martus. It shows various line, bar, and pie charts for income, expenses, budget. If you want a 50,000 ft visual of your overall budget, this is the report for you.
Income Statement**

This is probably the most used report in Martus, as it is the best report to see how you are tracking against your budget TODAY. The report will show "Actual" columns for all prior months, "Actual" & "Budget" columns for the current month, and YTD (Year To Date) "Actual" & "Budget" numbers.


The YTD Actual and Budget numbers are the best way to know how you are doing with your budget as of Today. Please refer to the "Update Frequency" section above to have the best understanding of the data.
Detailed Analysis This report shows a line for every single combination of "Account", "Fund", "Location", "Department", and "Project Code". Rarely do people need this level of detail in one view, but just know its there if needed.
YTD Budget Comparison This report is a great way to see the full fiscal year at a glance. It will show you your total budget, your current spending, whats remaining, and how that compares to last fiscal year.
Forecast This report helps answer the question "What will my budget look like at the end of this fiscal year?". It includes "Actual" columns for current and prior months, and budget for future months. It is all so you can see your forecasted total as compared to budget. The best way to describe the total comparison is "If I spend exactly what it shows as budgeted for the remainder of the fiscal year, I will be under/over budget by $X"
Transactions** This report shows individual transactions based on your set of filters. Because of the amount of time it takes to load a large number of transactions, the report will be blank until you load the filters. This is the same report you are taken too every time you drill down on a summary (blue) number in other reports.
Worksheet Budget Comparison This report shows you YTD actuals and budget by worksheet from the planner module.
Monthly Budget Comparison ** This report is just like the "Income Statement" report discussed above, except instead of only having Actual, Budget, and Variance columns for the current month, it includes those columns for every prior month.
Fund Balances This report is only available if you manage a fund. It shows you the beginning balance, additions, subtractions, and ending balance for each fund over a period of time.
Income Statement By Dimension in Excel If you want to export the Income statement report to Excel, this is an easy way.

Dashboard Module Training Content:

2.0 Navigating The Dashboard Module [Video]

2.1 Report Types [Video]

2.2 Filtering Reports [Video]

2.3 Saved Reports [Video]

2.4 Additional Training - Because of the complexity of this module, rather than having an hour long demo on helpscout, we ask that you please work with your department leader and/or someone on the finance team to schedule an in person training. We have found in person trainings to be the most helpful.

Planner Module | Budget

This module is primary used during our annual budget cycle. This is where users will go in to enter, submit, and approve their annual budget, as well as make budget change request mid year.

Screens In This Module:

Screen Name Description
Summary The summary section of the Planner module works very similarly to the Dashboard Financial, allowing you to run multiple reports on budget numbers.
Worksheets Budget worksheets are the building blocks of the Planner module. There is one worksheet for every unique combination of Fund/Location/Department. These worksheets are where budgets are entered on an annual basis.
Special Purpose Worksheets Special purpose worksheets are "sub" worksheets that allow for some additional budgeting flexibility. These worksheets are very powerful, but also more complex than normal worksheets. Budget numbers entered into these worksheets are then posted to the worksheets listed above. These are often used when someone wants to itemize out a list of expenses (like all the software for a department) and post a summary of this amount to the normal worksheet. Please reach out to the finance team if you would like more info.
Change Requests Once budget worksheets are submitted at the end of the budget cycle, all worksheets are locked and can no longer be directly edited. If a user wants to edit a budget during the year, they can submit a change request moving budget from one place to another. These requests are reviewed by the finance team.

Budget Change Requests Details

Budget Change Requests (BCR) can be utilized to shift current year budget dollars between account categories, departments, divisions, and months of utilization.  A Martus user can submit a BCR to move budget dollars within their existing access levels.  

To submit a request for a BCR across teams or divisions outside of your normal Martus access levels please fill out this Asana form.  The Finance Team will be able to submit and process this request for you.

Planner Module Training Content:

3.0 Navigating The Planner Module [Video]

3.1 Summary, Reports, & Filtering [Video]

3.2 Worksheets & Entering Budget Info [Video]

3.3 Special Purpose Worksheets - Because of the complexity of this option, please reach out directly to the finance team for 1 on 1 training.

3.4 Budget Change Request [Video]


Annual Budget Season Refresher Training

This is a start to finish overview of the everything you need to know to successfully navigate Martus during the annual budget cycle. This includes many of the elements covered in the trainings above, but is focused on the annual budget cycle process.

3.5 Planner Overview for Annual Budget Cycle

Time Stamps:

  • 0:17 - How to get to your budget worksheet
  • 1:24 - Overview Budget Worksheet
  • 3:07 - Starting your budget
  • 5:15 - Filter for projects/programs
  • 8:58 - Ways to Fill Out A Worksheet
  • 15:50 - Submitting a Worksheet
  • 16:20 - Budget Target
  • 17:38 - Special Purpose Worksheets
  • 21:45 - Planner Summary & Worksheet Status Report

Personnel Budgeting Module | Staffing Costs

Because the planner module is a budget as of a point in time, the Martus personnel is a near live-time look at the budget for your current positions, both filled and open positions. During the annual budget process we work with department leaders and division heads to set a staffing plan for the next fiscal year. During the budget process, this plan is posted from the Martus Personnel module into the worksheets in the planner module.

WARNING: The personal module allows you to see the COST of your staffing plan, not the BUDGET available for staffing.

  • Personnel Module = COST of staffing plan
  • Planner Module = BUDGET for staffing

During the annual budget process, we will post the staffing plan from Personnel into the Planner worksheets so that the staffing budget will matching accurate staffing plans. After that point in time, budgets must be adjusted using a change request for any changes made to staffing plans.


Example: If you budgeted for 5 staff during the annual budget cycle, then the planner module will have budget for 5 staff. If you end up having 8 staff during the year, the Personnel module sill be updated for the 8 staff members so you can see the costs, but that does not mean you have budget for those position in planner module.

Screens In This Module:

Screen Name Description
Scenario This is the only screen in this module, however there are a couple tabs within this screen. The primary tabs are "Summary" which shows you how your current staffing costs would look if they were in the Personnel module, and "Positions & Pay" that shows you the total cost of your current staffing plan.

Personnel Budgeting Module Training Content:

4.0 The Personnel Budgeting Module [Video]